STACK 


rtiis  Thini 


BY  RABBI  MARTIN  ZIELONKA 


Based  on 

nstianity   and  Judaism    Compare   Notes' 
BY  RALL  AND  COHON 

''The  Jew  and  Christianity" 
BY  DANBY 


TEMPLE  Mr.  SINAI 
EL  PASO,  TEXAS 


; 

"THIS  THING-  d°m 
GOODWILL" 

By    Rabbi    Martin    Zielonka 
Based  On 

"Christianity    and    Judaism    Compare 

Notes"   by    Rail    and    Cohon 

"The  Jew  and   Christianity" 

By    Danby 

Goodwill  between  Jew  and  Chris- 
tian is  a  topic  of  increasing  inter- 
est. The  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America  has 
a  special  committee  with  a  paid  sec- 
retary to  encourage  efforts  for  a 
closer  fellowship  between  the  follow- 
ers of  these  great  religious  forces  in 
American  life.  Various  Jewish  or- 
ganizations of  national  scope  accept- 
ed this  proffer  and  are  seconding  the 
efforts  wherever  they  maybe  made. 
Fellowship  banquets  have  been  held 
in  some  of  our  larger  communities 
and  here  and  there  an  exchange  of 
pulpits  has  been  arranged,  while  one 
community  has  gone  further  than 
this,  the  Jewish  congregation  as  a 
congregation  was  the  guest  of  the 
Christian  denomination  where  the 
rabbi  delivered  the  message,  and  the 
Christian  congregation  in  turn  was 
the  guest  of  the  synagogue,  where 
the  pastor  delivered  the  message. 

The  basic  reason  for  this  move- 
ment is  the  definite  decision  by  cer- 
tain groups  within  the  Christian 
church  that  its  attitude  toward  the 
Jew  has  not  been  fair.  Since  both 
groups  must  live  side  by  side  in  the 
American  environment  and  since  the 
traditions  of  each  group  differ  so 
essentially  from  the  traditions  of  the 
other,  the  best  way  to  accomplish  re- 
sults is  by  approaching  each  other  in 
a  friendly  spirit  and  seeking  to  as- 
certain the  best.  The  attitude  of  the 
church  has  been  one  of  superiority. 
Ihe  Jew  represented  a  covenant  that 
had  been  superceded  by  a  newer  cov- 
enant which  was  called  the  New 
Testament  and  it  was  the  duty  of  the 


1  500841 


adherents  of  this  newer  dispensation 
to  draw  unto  itself  all  those  that  were 
without  the  fold.  This  led  to  Mis- 
sionary efforts,  which  belittled  the 
beauties  and  sanctities  of  the  Old 
Testament  in  order  that  the  New 
Ones  might  reflect  an  added  splend- 
or. Now  the  representatives  of  the 
Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ  of  America  has  renounced  all 
missionary  efforts  and  has  denounc- 
ed this  policy  because  it  did  not  bring 
fellowship  but  engendered  animosi- 
ties and  suspicions. 

Herbert  Danby,  residentiary  Canon 
of  St.  George's  Cathedral  in  Jerusa- 
lem has  presented  to  us  "some  phases 
Ancient  and  Modern  of  the  Jewish 
attitude  toward  Christianity."  Pro- 
fessor Harris  Franklin  Roll  of  the 
Garrett  Biblical  Institute  of  Chicago 
and  Professor  Samuel  S.  Cohon  of  the 
Hebrew  Union  College  of  Cincinnati, 
present  the  series  of  lectures  upon 
their  own  religious  denomination 
which  they  presented  to  the  students 
of  the  school  where  they  went  as 
visiting  lecturers. 

The  fact  that  a  Jewish  professor 
of  theology  delivered  a  series  of  lec- 
tures on  Judaism  to  Christian  theo- 
logical students,  while  the  Christian 
professor  of  theology  presented  his 
views  to  candidates  for  the  rabbin- 
iccal  degree  shows  how  far  this  spirit 
of  good-will  has  worked  and  is  work- 
ing in  the  American  environment. 

If  we  agree  to  the  American  doc- 
trine of  "salvation  by  education" 
then  we  must  go  a  step  further  and 
say  that  this  exchange  of  lectures  is 
a  splendid  investment,  fo\  it  pre- 
sents to  the  church  and  synagogue 
leaders  of  tomorrow  the  motifs  of  the 
two  groups  as  expounded  by  leaders 
in  their  respective  fields  of  thought. 

Dr.  Roll  and  Rabi  Cohon  present 
their  religions  and  the  motive  power 
behind  each,  in  the  simplest  langu- 
age; neither  apologizes  for  his  be- 
liefs; neither  seeks  to  discredit  the 
other,  but  each  presents  his  viewpoint 
as  a  man  steeped  in  his  traditions 
and  proud  of  these  traditions.  Each 
recognizes  the  rights  to  differ  upon 
fundamentals  and  the  historic  back- 


ground  that  has  produced  these  fund- 
amentals. Thusa  without  any  desire 
to  seek  converts,  the  facts  are  pre- 
sented; the  student  permitted  to  draw 
his  own  conclusions.  When  these 
young  men  go  out  into  the  world  they 
will  have  a  finer  appreciation  of  the 
good  in  the  faith  of  the  other.  By 
such  means  much  more  true  good 
will  can  be  created  than  by  a  great 
number  of  fellowship  banquets  where 
happy  phrases  ate  exchanged  and 
where  the  speakers  as  well  as  the  list- 
eners immediately  return  to  their 
regular  walks,  of  life. 

Especially  is  this  true  from  the 
Jewish  viewpoint.  Too  many  of  these 
goodwill  meetings  have  been  held  in 
Jewish  homes  of  worship  and  under 
Jewish  auspices  or  leadership.  While 
some  Jews  may  need  these  gatherings 
and  may  be  influenced  by  the  same, 
the  average  Jew  does  not  need  the 
same.  As  a  member  of  a  small  minor- 
ity group  he  has  at  all  times,  extend- 
ed the  hand  of  fellowship.  He  has 
not  sought  converts  from  other 
faiths,  He  has  not  proclaimed  his 
interpretation  of  religion  as  essential 
to  salvation.  He  has  asked  nothing 
more  than  the  right  to  worship  God 
according  to  the  dictates  of  his  con- 
science and  that  this  right  to  worship 
be  assured  him  at  all  times. 

Here  and  there  such  gatherings 
have  been  held  under  Christian  aus- 
pices and  without  any  taint  of  pat- 
ronage and  where  this  has  been  done 
it  has  been  of  tremendous  value.  But 
it  has  not  been  done  often  enough! 
The  Jew  has  no  quarrel  with  the 
Christian,  be  he  Modernist  or  Funda- 
mentalist; he  appreciates  the  peace 
that  comes  when  they  dwell  in  peace 
and  harmony  and  when  this  good 
feeling  overflows  to  those  who  are 
not  of  the  Christian  persuasion.  If 
the  Good  Will  movement  is  to  reflect 
a  growing  approachment  between 
Jew  and  Christian  then  the  initiative 
for  such  meetings  should  find  expres- 
sion in  the  Christian  church  and  the 
message  of  the  Jewish  teacher  should 
find  a  sympathetic  fearing  in  Chris- 
tian pulpits  and  a<-~>ong  Christian 
groups.  The  trouble  is  that  the  Jew 


does  not  know  the  Christian,  but 
the  greater  trouble  is  that  the  Chris- 
tian knows  the  Jew  still  less.  He  is 
motivated  by  ancient  fables  and  folk 
lore;  his  pet  Jew  is  a  splendid  citi- 
zen but  the  Jew,  as  a  Jew,  does  not 
measure  up  to  the  standards  of  his 
own  group. 

Just  how  true  and  how  unjust  such 
an  estimate  is,  has  been  presented  to 
us  by  Dr.  Danby.  He  tells  us — "The 
results  of  this  search  are,  on  the 
whole,  far  from  flattering  to  us 
Christians.  They  are  more  humil- 
iating when  we  think  of  what  is  most 
probably  their  real  basis — our  own 
failure  to  show  forth  Christ  to  the 
world  in  our  own  lives;  because  we, 
Christ's  soldiers  and  servants,  have 
so  far  forgotten  our  professions  and 
betrayed  our  trust  as  to  put  our  Lord 
and  Master  to  open  shame."  And  he 
furthermore  states  "We  are  more 
concerned  with  the  Church's  complete 
failure  to  show,  whenever  it  was 
faced  by  the  Jewish  race,  the  faint- 
est gleanj  of  Christian  feeling  or  the 
least  glow  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus. 
Where  Jesus  Himself  and  St.  Stephen 
forgave,  the  church  thought  it  right 
to  avenge.  In  vain  had  St.  Paul 
argyd  that  "the  wrath  of  man  work- 
eth  not  the  righteousness  of  God." 

These  are  the  words  of  a  Christian 
leader  concerning  Christianity's  guilt 
in  this  matter  of  a  lack  of  under- 
standing and  goodwill  between  these 
two  great  religions.  No  Jew  could 
pen  a  more  drastic  accusation  as  to 
conditions  that  have  existed  and  still 
exist  to  a  great  extent.  "The  miser- 
able fact  emerges  that  it  was  always 
the  staunchest  fighters  for  Christen- 
dom who  were  the  bitterest  persecu- 
tors." 

Now  Good  Will  cannot  be  built 
upon  such  a  foundation.  The  change 
must  come  from  the  side  of  the  per- 
secutors and  not  from  the  side  of  the 
persecuted.  "If  the  Jew  did,  in 
truth,  become  the  deepest  hater  of 
Christianity,  it  was  most  certainly  the 
Christian  who  had  the  largest  share 
in  manking  him  so,"  and  then  "if 
we  would  remove  the  reproach  of  the 
past  then  we  must  realize  our  fail- 


ure  as  a  Church  to  show  forth  the 
spirit  of  our  blessed  Lord  and  Sav- 
iour in  just  those  places  and  times 
where  it  might  have  worked  with 
greatest  power". 

An  even  where  the  Jew  was  perse- 
cuted he  proved  himself  the  better 
Christian:  "We  are  met  by  the  re- 
markable fact  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  recognizable  Jewish  Anti- 
Christian  literature,  that  is  to  say, 
a  literature  in  the  least  correspond- 
ing to  the  type  presented  by  the  gi- 
gantic bulk  of  Christian  anti-Jewish 
literature."  Be  the  reason  what  it 
may,  history  proves  that  the  Jew  has 
always  been  a  poor  hater;  it  was  he 
that  always  turned  the  other  cheek; 
it  was  he  who  welcomed  every  kind- 
ly overture  that  made  his  living  more 
pleasant.  Even  during  the  period  of 
the  Crusades,  "they  disputed  on  phi- 
losophical grounds  such  Christian 
doctrines  as  the  divinity  of  Christ 
and  the  Holy  Trinity!  yet  they  are 
without  rancor  and  bitterness."  "Je- 
huda  ha-Levi  hails  Christianity  as 
sharing  the  same  root  with  Judaism 
and  considers  that  it  is  one  of  the 
preparatory  steps  towards  the  time 
of  Messianic  bliss  in  which  it,  Chris- 
tianity will  have  a  share."  "Mai- 
monides  recognizes  Christianity  as 
fulfilling  the  divine  purpose  of  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah." 

In  more  modern  days — "Joseph 
Salvador,  a  French  Jew  of  indepen- 
dent mind;  Abraham  Geiger,  a  lead- 
ing figure  of  the  Reform  movement 
in  Germany;  Heinrich  Graetz,  a 
strong  opponent  of  the  Reform  move- 
ment; Joseph  Jacobs,  an  English 
Jew  of  the  Westernized  orthodox 
type;  Mr.  Claude  Montefiore,  an  Eng- 
lish Jew  of  the  extreme  Liberal  camp 
and  Achad  Ha-Am,  the  philosopher 
of  the  Zionist  movement"  are  pre- 
sented as  articulating  Jewish  Opin- 
ion about  Christianity  and  all  of 
them  show  appreciation  for  the  fun- 
damentals of  Christianity  and  for 
the  person  of  its  founder.  "The 
Jewish  attitude  has  varied  with  al- 
most mathematical  certainty  accord- 
ing to  the  precise  degree  in  which 


Christians  have  shown  themselves 
real  followers  in  spirit  and  deed  of 
their  Saviour." 

Thus  does  the  Christian  teacher  re- 
siding in  Jerusalem  and  therefore  in 
contact  with  all  kinds  and  classes  of 
Jews,  indict  the  Christianity  of  the 
past  and  the  present,  for  its  attti- 
tude  towards  the  Jew.  And  in  this 
indictment  he  suggests  a  solution 
that  might  Hell  be  taken  as  the  slo- 
gan for  any  Good  Will  movement 
fostered  by  an  organization  such  as 
the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches 
of  Christ  in  America — "The  more 
Christians  have  conformed  to  the 
spirit  of  Christ,  the  more  has  Jewish 
respect  been  drawn  to  Christianity 
and  to  Christ.  The  farther  Christ- 
ing  after  Jesus  in  spirit  and  in  truth, 
ians  have  drawn  back  from  follow- 
so  have  Christians  brought  into  dis- 
respect Christianity  and  Christ  Him- 
self." The  underlying  motive  of  this 
statement  can  be  accepted  by  both 
parties  to  any  Good  Will  movement — 
the  spirit  of  gentleness,  and  forgive- 
ness, the  lack  of  ostentation  and  the 
power  of  persuasion  are  the  surest 
methods  of  cooperation. 

In  every  age  the  Jew  has  accepted 
his  lot  and  sought  to  cultivate  the 
friendship  and  fellowship  of  his 
neighbors,  but  too  often  was  he  seg- 
regated into  a  ghetto ;  too  often  was 
he  hunted  with  a  "Hep,  Hep,"  too 
often  was  the  terrible  blood  accusa- 
tion revived  and  with  it  the  attend- 
ing misery  and  suffering:  too  often 
was  he  driven  from  the  land  after 
his  goods  were  confiscated  and  too 
often  was  he  enticed  to  seek  promo- 
tions on  condition  that  he  be  con- 
verted. And  this  has  left  an  indelible 
impression  upon  his  mind  and  upon 
his  soul — an  impression  that  cannot 
be  wiped  out  in  a  single  decade. 

Conditions  have  not  changed  in 
many  of  the  lands  of  Europe;  con- 
ditions are  much  finer  and  better  in 
these  United  States.  And  because 
they  are  finer  here,  and  promise 
much,  we  ought  not  permit  any 
group,  organization,  church  or  clan 
to  interfere.  We  ought  to  foster 
this  effort  for  Good  Will;  we  ought 

6 


to  respond  to  it  with  the  best  that  is 
within  us,  but  we  must  at  the  same 
time  say,  reverently  but  definitely 
that  the  initiative  for  such  efforts 
should  come  from  the  majority  side, 
because  they  are  sure  that  we  will 
accept  them  and  because  they  cannot 
realize  the  scars  that  time  has  left 
upon  our  bodies. 

We  welcome  such  books  as  those 
of  Roll  and  Cohon,  and  of  Danby, 
they  clear  the  atmosphere  and  pre- 
pare the  way;  we  welcome  the  ef- 
forts of  every  organization  that  puts 
into  action  a  definite  program  of 
Good  Will,  a  program  based  upon 
mutual  respect  for  each  others  at- 
tainments and  mutual  forgiveness  of 
each  others  weakness.  We  stand 
ready  to  cooperate  but  we  must  ask 
the  majority  faith  to  lead  the  way 
for  as  Danby  says — "So  far  as  the 
Jews  are  concerned,  let  us  not  de- 
cieve  ourselves  for  one  moment;  the 
church  by  its  deliberate  choice  and 
conduct  has  made  itself  one  gigantic 
and  seemingly  impenetrable  ob- 
stacle." By  the  same  deliberate 
choice  and  conduct  it  can  now  pave 
the  way  for  real  Good  Will.  Jew  and 
Christian,  Christian  an '  Jew  must 
live  together  and  work  together  in 
this  land  as  well  as  mrny  other  lands. 
When  suspicion  will  set  aside  by  both 
sides  and  kindly  deeds  will  take  the 
place  of  whispering  campaigns  and 
open  expression  of  thought  be  en- 
couraged on  both  sides,  then  will  we 
have  attained  the  first  step  on  the  lad- 
der of  Good  Will.  And  whei.  we  have 
made  that  step  then  will  we  find  that 
it,  like  Jacob's  ladder,  has  angels 
ascending  and  descending,  carrying 
the  message  of  our  kindly  deeds  to 
the  Eternal  Father  and  bringing  from 
Him  a  blessing  forevermore.  Such 
beeks  as  we  have  considered  tonight 
will  help  prepare  for  that  time. 

— Amen. 


UNIV.  OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY,  LOS  A 


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